Where to Napa Valley - The Wines

Okay, now it is onto the good stuff...The wine. Before I move on to day trips that you can do over to Sonoma County, let me cover some of our favorite wine stops in the valley.

I guess I would have to rate Cuvaison as my number one wine tasting destination in the valley. Located right outside of Calistoga, it is a great place to go after the aforementioned mudbath...don't forget the pre-bath brazilian. It is an intimate tasting room with nice people. A good place to eat your sandwiches can be found on the grounds. I have been a long time Club Cuvaison member so my tasting is free unless I want a new tasting glass to take home (which I do not). They have good wine at decent prices and the tasting room is low key, unlike many of the valley rooms. It'll still cost you to taste (which sucks, in my opinion, but paying for tasting is now pretty much universal in all California wine areas) if you are not a Club member. And do not forget that a pre-tasting mudbath will make the wine hit you that much quicker.

An interesting tasting room can be found around the corner at Clos Pegase. This wine room has millions of dollars worth of art from the collection of the rich dude that owns the winery. I do not have an opinion of the wine because I have not drunk enough CP to know.

Also on the north end of the valley is Chateau Montelena. This winner of the famous Paris tasting of 1976 (for the Chardonnay) is considered to have one of the best, longest aged cabernets in CA. The winery has been downgraded recently due to an outbreak of brettanomyces in the winery and I found them to be very full of themselves. But it is worth the trip to see the beautiful grounds.

Consider taking the drive north to Guenoc. This interesting trip on sometimes treacherous roads over the old volcanic territory is rewarded by a tasting at one of the more unique and underappreciated wineries in the area. The winery is located in the middle of nowhere but offers a fine selection of wines across various price points. Try the Langtry Meritage (pronounced like Heritage) or Bella Oaks Reserve wines if they are serving them

Many people think Sterling, the famous winery on the hill that you have to take a ski tram or bus to get to, is worth the visit but I say no way. I have hated every bottle of Sterling wine that I have ever tasted so you can take the tram if you want, but only do it on a nice day to experience the view. Vinophiles will hate the wine.

I used to like Beringer a lot but now that they are part of Beringer Blass Fosters Lager whatever the hell they are, I am hesitant to recommend them. But they used to have a fine tour and I still think Ed Sbragia, their winemaker, is brilliant. I just think the corporate beancounters have castrated old Eddie and it really pisses me off how they have continued to raise the price of their Beringer PR Cabernet to the point where I will not buy it again. At $50 it was pretty good deal but at $100 they can suck my you know what.

South on Hwy. 29 south of St. Helena is Flora Springs tasting room. The Komes family are owners of the aforementioned Rancho Caymus Lodge, and the nice tasting room is worth a look for the breadth of their offerings and the nice people (including a Komes family member) running the joint. Plus they are right next door to one of my favorite gourmet stores of all time, Dean and deLuca. You should plan a trip so that you pick up lunch at D&D. Their selection of meats, cheese, condiments, tools and other stuff dwarfs Zingermann's (Ann Arbor, MI) plus they have a world class collection of wines you can poach from to take to your dinner at one of the restaurants in the area with reasonable corkage charges (most are less than $20). Just make sure to inquire about corkage before hand.

When Niebaum Coppola was Inglenook Napa Valley, it was my favorite winery in the valley. When Francis bought it, the wine got shitty and overpriced and he turned the beautiful, old visitor area into a shrine to his often just as shitty movies. So I my few visits since he took over the winery have been met with major disappointment. Film buffs would probably pee their pants with his collection of film stuff but from the second you walk in the door there they will try to sell you lots of crap with his wine or a films' name on it. The winery just seems to exist to sell you shit with Copolla name on it so he can get more rich. F... that.
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Other wineries worth visiting include Caymus (but don't expect to taste much, 'lil Chucky Wagner seems to only have one or two wines available for tasting and I always wonder why he bothers to have a "tasting room" anyway). Other notables include Domaine Chandon, Spring Mountain, Newton, Phil Togni, St. Clement, Freemark Abbey, Whitehall Lane, Folie a Deux and look for some of the smaller, new or old producers you may not have heard of. Also, there are some excellent wineries on the east side of the valley off of Silverado Trail. Stags Leap, Pine Ridge, Cakebread, Clos du Val, Villa Mount Eden/Conn Creek and Rombauer are worth a visit if you have the time or find yourself there late in the day and needing a glass of wine. Check to make sure they are open and are not "by appointment only". I forget which ones require a call ahead.

I have also read that the Pope Valley is an up and coming area but I do not know what if any wineries have tasting rooms up there. Finally, Mount Veeder is home to several wineries including Hess.

Just remember, when all is said and done, you are just starting your California wine country visit. Day trips to Sonoma city, central and north Sonoma County and the Alexander Valley are yet to come. You cannot visit without a day trip to Ridge, Chateau St. Jean or Alexander Valley Vineyards or a day trip over to the quaint towns of Sonoma (south end of the Sonoma wine trail) and Healdsburg or a full day in the Dry Creek Valley or the Russian River wineries. So go, plan a week of visits and don't forget to designate a driver.

A votre sante - Joel